Poe's Pointers for PerfectionAnonymous

In "The Philosophy of Composition," Edgar Allan Poe describes a credible set of short and simple guidelines regarding the structure of a great literary work. These procedures may seem insignificant and useless to experienced writers. On the other hand, amateur writers that may be having difficulty beginning or developing their work might find Poe's strategy legitimate and quite helpful. The poem "The Raven" is proof that these guidelines are effective when used to begin and to develop a literary work. The effectiveness of some of these procedures, such as the development of a dnouement, the length of a work, and the theme of a work, is evident in Poe's "The Raven."

Firstly, Poe's "Composition" suggests that, "Nothing is more clear than that every plot, worth the name, must be elaborated to its dnouement before anything be attempted to pen" (1). In this statement, Poe is suggesting that the writer should previously develop the dnouement, or the resolution of the climax, before developing any other part of the work. Poe validates this statement with the point that, "It is only with the dnouement constantly in view that we can give a plot its indispensable air of...